Saturday night we hit Wrongbar to see Colin Munroe play. Not really knowing what to expect, besides having been pleasantly surprised by what I heard on YouTube, I was even more surprised and mesmerized by the live show and enthusiasm brought to the table. Colin Munroe being a producer and a songwriter, knows how to create great hooks, and ear pleasing yet unique R&B, Top 40 jams, and has worked with high caliber acts like RZA, Pusha T, Drake, Wale and more. Yet he is probably most known for creating a response and remix of Kanye’s “All of the Lights,” titled “I Want Those Flashing Lights”.
I really enjoyed the set, although not much of a dance party was happening, it seemed almost everyone there was industry, and it definitely was not packed. Colin Munroe seems very underrated for the music he creates, and he is also incredibly talented. Speaking to the drummer after, I was told that Colin himself writes produces and also plays all of the instruments as well. However I must say, the drummer, Max, a local Torontonian, absolutely stole the show. He was an incredible talent, and it’s very rare to see someone that looks so natural at the drum kit. Colin Munroe is currently on tour promoting his new album The Unsung Hero, and it’s definitely a great pre-drink with the girls before “going to da club” album.
If a bluegrass band playing a note for note cover of a Radiohead song sounds like the geekiest thing in the world to you, you may be right. If you also think it sounds amazing and fun, then you’re probably already familiar with Punch Brothers. Sure, calling them a bluegrass band is a bit reductive as the band incorporates so many influences into their sound, from pop to jazz, even a hint of R’nB and much more, but when you’ve got mandolin, banjo, and fiddle onstage and you play a Bill Monroe number in your set, you’re basically a bluegrass band, albeit a very progressive and eclectic one. Chrile Thile led the band through a great set that totally got the crowd going and showed off their musical talents to the full extent. Besides the aforementioned Radiohead cover, other highlights included “Don’t Get Married Without Me” and a cover of The Band’s “Ophelia.” I figured their midnight set would be the perfect way to end my Friday night.
Of course, as these things go, my night didn’t quite end there. It ended with a pretty raucous set by Amsterdam DJ collective Amsterdance (clever name, no?), which was not part of my original plan. My original plan was to make my way to the train station where I would catch the train back to Copenhagen for the night. Yup, too old and used to comfort for camping. Naturally, I had to wait nearly an hour until the next train would arrive and so I took it upon myself to explore the nearby campgrounds. So, arming myself with a can of beer so as to fit in, I ventured into the strange little society that is a European festival campground. Dudes having a mini dance party to Iron Maiden’s “Wasted Years,” people chucking empty bottles into a pile in the middle of the pathway, others who had set up elaborate (and kind of impressive) soundsystems and even functioning bars at their campsite – these are among the sights I saw. It’s definitely a weird scene, but one that looks like a lot of fun in it’s own way. I can see why they set up the electronic dance music stage (which was inflatable by the way) outside of the proper festival grounds and near the campsite. This is where the party happens. And Amsterdance brought the party. It was everything a late night dance party in a muddy field should be. Still glad I wasn’t camping though. That place kind of smelled like a urinal full of mud.
Highlights from earlier in the day included Gossip‘s Beth Ditto going all disco diva on the crowd and learning the word “skol,” which she used throughout her set, Dorit Chrysler playing some late night theremin music, and The Vaccines rocking out with a totally fun set of tunes. Way more fun than The Cult, whose set overlapped with theirs. Not sure why I felt the need to checck out The Cult again, since I saw them just over a year ago at Hellfest, but hey, sometimes you just want to hear “Love Removal Machine.” When I saw them last, I noted that Ian Astbury seemed a bit weird. Maybe he was just having a bad day i thought. Nope, I think the dude’s just constantly cranky. That’s not to say the band didn’t rock out. They did (though I wasn’t really feeling the tunes off their latest, Choice Of Weapon). It’s just The Vaccines power pop tunes seemed more fun at the time.
The set of the day for me though, would have to have been Lee Ranaldo. The former Sonic Youth guitarist led his band through a solid set that was immensely satisfying. Playing tunes from Between The Times And Tides, his latest solo album and first with real, actual songs on it, along with covers of Neil Young and The Talking Heads, Ranaldo impressed the diehards up front, which included oldsters who probably started listening to Sonic Youth when they started in the early ’80s along with kids who may not have even been born in the ’80s. No matter. As one t-shirt being sold on the fest declared, “music has no borders.” I would imagine that includes age as well.
Devotees of Denmark’s Roskilde Festival like to refer to the “Orange Feeling,” so named for the festival’s famous tented orange stage and referring to the overall vibe of the fest in general. I’ve got to say that I’ve come to understand said feeling, having succumbed to it’s charms after attending last year. For such a massive festival, it can also have a really small scale vibe to it as well, catering to the most obscure of tastes while also offering up the massive crowd pleasers. Back for another round this year, I was eager to take it all in again. And so, after skipping out on most of The Shins‘ set (sorry, Natalie Portman,they never really changed my life), I wandered over to the Pavilion Stage to check out Clock Opera.
Having heard good things about the London band, I was hoping to be impressed and they did not disappoint. The matching floral print shirts on three quarters of the band were kind of worth it alone, but their grandiose sounding electropop tunes also held up. Songs like “Once and For All” really got the crowd going and the band themselves were impressed with the reaction, with frontman Guy Connelly noting that many festival crowds would have partially dispersed for greener pastures by that point in their set. He also mentioned how they’d never been given that amount of time in which to play before, another nice thing about Roskilde being their dedication to giving each performer at least an hour onstage if they so choose. Clock Opera were definitely experiencing the “orange feeling.” And loving it.
From there I was drawn in to the arty noise metal sounds of Today Is The Day. Frontman Steve Austin’s an intense fellow, but not without a sense of humour, as evidenced by the band’s cover of Bad Companys “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” which the band played with their usual trademark intensity. “How to take a piece of shit and shine it,” noted Austin, before adding, “I hope you all get laid tonight.” Austin and co. continued on with this theme later in the set, adding another sex themed cover song, The Beatles’ “Why Dont We Do It In The Road.” They may seem like scary sorts at first, but these guys know how to have fun onstage, and festivals are all about fun. Chalk this one up to orange feeling too.
Also fun was A$AP Rocky’s set later that night, a smart bit of counterprogramming for all the kids who didn’t get what weird old Uncle Robert and his mates in The Cure were up to on the main stage (for the record, it sounded great). Rocky really got the crowd going, leading them through chants of A$AP! (of course), asking how many in the crowd smoked weed (apparently a lot), and giving various people in the crowd a shout out, such as this gem: “Shout out to my boy in the back with his arms up and shit. I see you.” And luckily for those throwing their beers around, they weren’t throwing them in the direction of the stage or this show may have ended very differently. Rocky impressed with his swagger and high energy show. He definitely caught a bit of the orange feeling that night. However, for the duration of his set, I think all involved would agree to change the name to purple feeling for A$AP Rocky’s sake
If you read Halley’s and my post “top ten lyrics that make a hipster’s heart flutter” then you know that I’m a big Brendan Benson fan. Man’s a lyrical genius. His show Thursday evening at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall didn’t lack for lyrical gems, from him or from his opening act, Young Hines, a hometown sweetheart who was lured away to Tennessee by Benson. Some of the highlights were:
“Some folks are up the creek without a paddle/you’re up the creek without a boat” (Hines)
“What self-respecting woman would have me and not stab me?” (Benson)
“Enough about you/let’s talk about stamps.” (Stage Crew’s shirt)
The first opening act, Howling Brothers, a bluegrass trio consisting of an upright bass, a fiddle and a guitar, might not have had the lyrical gems apparent in Hines’ and Benson’s songs, but they excelled in other ways, putting on the most delightful hoedown complete with a semi-mountain dance on a sound system I’d ever seen.
Young Hines’ set didn’t disappoint either, and dipped in and out of different genres nicely, starting out slow and sweet with Rainy Day, and ending on a more rock n’ roll note with Can’t Explode. Hines’ signature instrument was a megaphone taped to a tripod. I have to admit I was a little nervous when he busted that thing out, but it’s a testament to his talent that I was sorry when, at the end, it was tucked away at the back of the stage.
And Brendan Benson was just straight up great – I never doubted he would be. He’s an artist with such solid starting material in his lyrics and his sound that it would take some pretty major sabotage to make his show anything less than worth going to see. I haven’t kept up on his newer material, so I was pleased that he played mostly from Lapalco and Alternative to Love. What I love most about Benson’s lyrics is not only that they often make me laugh out loud, but that
they are so often universal. Listen to the lyrics for “What I’m looking for” and tell me there aren’t at least three sentences that you could’ve written about your own life.
